


one more song

by DracoPendragon



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Guitars, M/M, Music, Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 20:57:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13419501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DracoPendragon/pseuds/DracoPendragon
Summary: ‘I heard music,’ Finn says gently. He’s looking at the guitar next to Poe.Poe runs his free hand through his hair. ‘Uh, yeah, I just found it there and, uh, thought it’d be… nice, you know, I thought maybe it’d help you… find your way back.’Poe sings to Finn while he's healing from his battle with Kylo Ren on Starkiller Base.





	one more song

**Author's Note:**

> i'm a mess

Even before the Millennium Falcon fully touches down on the tarmac with all the other ships that partook in the destruction of the Starkiller Base, there’s something – sixth sense, gut feeling, call it what you will – that makes Poe anxious. His hands are sweating, and as hard as he tries, he feels like he can’t catch a breath properly. His suspicion, no, his fear, is justified when he sees Finn being carried to a medical hover. There’s no doubt about it – Finn is unconscious: there’s no other reason Chewbacca would be carrying him in his arms.

‘Easy, easy!’ Poe hears one of the medics say as he runs to meet them and help them settle Finn onto the hover. ‘He’s hurt!’

He jogs after the craft as it bears the still body of his friend away through the crowds of Resistance members gathered to celebrate the victory. He is stopped at the medical bay doors by a large droid that speaks in a monotone buzz of binary, refusing to let him in no matter how hard he argues against it.

He leans back against the wall near to the med bay doors, nervously running a hand through his hair and closing his eyes, trying to keep his breathing under check. There’s a gentle pressure applied to his shoulder, and he looks up at the person standing in front of him.

‘You must be Rey,’ he says, smiling politely.

‘That’s me,’ the girl before him replies, smiling back. She turns her head to look at the doors to the medical bay. ‘How is he?’

Poe shrugs. ‘I don’t know; they won’t let me see him.’

Rey rests her back on the wall next to Poe. ‘He’s very brave.’

‘Yeah, he is,’ Poe agrees, smiling as he remembers the way Finn helped him escape the First Order. ‘How did it happen?’

‘He tried to fight Kylo Ren using a lightsaber,’ Rey explains. ‘He was trying to save me,’ she adds quietly.

‘Hey, it’s not your fault he’s in there,’ Poe says, picking up on the guilt that seeped into her voice. She doesn’t say anything in reply, and a short silence passes between them.

‘I should really thank you.’

‘Hmm?’

‘For returning BeeBee-Ate to the Resistance. That was very brave too.’

Rey looks down at her feet, a small smile tugging at her lips. ‘It was no problem at all,’ she says. ‘It’s been such an adventure… and BeeBee-Ate is such a wonderful droid.’

‘Yeah, they’re pretty awesome,’ Poe grins. ‘You know binary then?’

Rey nods. ‘I picked it up quite early on while I lived on Jakku.’ The smile leaves her face, replaced by a look of longing.

They are interrupted by the monotone buzz of the medical droid who had previously denied Poe entrance into the med bay. It emits a short stream of binary before falling silent again.

Poe gestures to the doors. ‘You go first,’ he says politely.

‘Are you sure?’ Rey asks as she stood upright, no longer supported by the wall.

‘Yeah, of course. Go see Finn.’

‘Thank you,’ Rey smiles as she steps towards the white doors. ‘I won’t be too long.’

‘Take your time.’ Poe smiles and watches her as she enters the medical bay, follows her through the glass windows until she is by Finn’s side. He turns round, and heads along the corridors of the Resistance base to his room. He takes off his flight vest, leaving it draped over the back of his desk chair before going to the centre of the base, where people are gathered around General Leia.

* * *

 

Poe watches through the glass windows of the med bay doors as Rey speaks to Finn. He sees her lean over towards where Finn’s head rests, but he cannot see anything else, his view obstructed by a large piece of medical equipment. He turns his gaze to his feet, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.

He’s still staring at the ground beneath him when he hears the doors of the medical bay swing open. He looks up as Rey stops in front of him.

‘He’s going to be okay,’ she says, voice calm and soothing. ‘I know he is.’

Poe smiles at her, but it’s strained. He believes her, deep down inside, knows Finn would pull through, and yet there’s a small part of him that keeps asking  _ what if he doesn’t? _

‘You gonna go find Luke Skywalker then?’

‘Yes, we’re heading off soon,’ Rey confirms.

‘Any idea how long you’ll be gone? So I can tell Finn if you’ve not returned when he wakes up?’

‘I can’t say. I’ve no idea what I’m going to do there, or how long it’s going to take.’

‘Just fly safe then, okay? And don’t get into any trouble,’ Poe says, which made Rey smile. ‘I’ll stay and look after Finn for you.’

‘I’ll be okay,’ she assures him. ‘And thank you.’

‘I don’t doubt it for one second,’ he replies, grinning. ‘May the force be with you.’

‘May the force be with you,’ Rey reciprocates before she waves at him gently and turns to leave the medical bay corridor.

Poe pushes himself gently off the wall with the palms of his hand, striding to the swinging doors separating him from Finn before he pushes them open. It’s all he can do to stop himself from running over to his friend’s side. A chair is set next to the bed, which Poe collapses into as he reaches it, taking hold of Finn’s hand.

‘You can do it, buddy. You’re gonna make it through this. I know you will. You’re strong like that.’

A flare of anger towards Kylo Ren shoots through him, sharp as  blaster fire, but he quickly suppresses it; now wasn’t the time to get revenge, now was the time to make sure Finn was okay.

He stays in that chair for several hours, holding Finn’s hand and talking to him, voice low and gentle, as though he’s trying to coax consciousness back into his friend’s body. Sometime during the second hour, BB-8 enters the medical bay and rolls over to join him. Poe doesn’t communicate with the droid much, but is glad for the company all the same.

Over the next few hours, Finn has a stream of visitors passing by his bedside, including Jess, Karé and Snap. They all talk to Poe, asking about Finn and trying to help him feel better, telling him Finn would make it through. He’s grateful for their efforts, even though they don’t really help a lot. They also talk about Rey and Luke Skywalker, with BB-8 often chirping a response into the conversation. Eventually they leave, kicked out by the monotone med droid.

Poe manages to stay with Finn even after visiting hours were over – something he figures he has General Leia to thank for. The adrenaline has definitely worn out by now, and he’s forgotten to eat anything. Thankfully, Jess had left some fruit by Finn’s bedside.

‘I’m sure he won’t mind if I take one, right?’ he asks BB-8 as he reaches out for a pear.

‘You don’t mind, do you?’ he asks the unconscious figure on the bed. ‘Sure you won’t,’ he adds, smiling nervously. ‘Always better to ask forgiveness than permission, anyway.’

He slowly eats the pear, holding it in one hand while his other is clasped around Finn’s. It won’t give him much energy, but it’ll stop his stomach from growling temporarily.

A few hours later, Poe falls asleep, his fingers still entwined with Finn’s. Somehow it soothes him, and sleeping manages to alleviate some of the worry that lay heavy on his chest.

* * *

 

When Poe wakes up, a twinge in the base of his spine from his sleeping position, the first thing that catches his eye is the guitar that had been deposited by Finn’s bedside as he slept. He turns quickly to look at Finn, whose hand had not slipped from his in the time he’d been out of it. He’s still, too still, and if it wasn’t for the steady bleeping of the machine beside him, Poe would have thought him dead.

BB-8 catches his attention again by gently nudging the guitar.

Poe wordlessly picks up the instrument. He checks it’s in tune, and gently, quietly, starts to strum. He plays a series of lullabies, songs his father taught him to play with words his mother taught him to sing. He immerses himself in the sound of it, the familiar feel of the chords as he plays them, watching Finn’s face for any sign of consciousness.

He senses the General before he hears her. He turns in his seat to look at her. When he moves to get up, she holds out a hand.

‘You really don’t have to stand up every time I enter a room, Poe,’ she says, exasperated.

He looks at what’s she’s holding in her hands.

‘That’s… that’s his jacket.’

‘Good to see you’re still able to identify basic objects,’ Leia smirks. She hands it to him, along with a strong yarn of thread and a thick needle. ‘I thought you might want to fix it up for when our friend wakes up. Keep yourself busy, you know?’

Poe chokes out the word ‘thanks’, overcome with emotion.

Leia rests a hand on his shoulder, looking him in the eye. ‘Look after yourself. I’m sure he’d want you to do that.’

Poe nods, turning to look at Finn.

‘Keep playing,’ she encourages him. ‘I think he likes it.’

Poe’s fingers feel heavy on the strings, but he continues the song he was singing before, one his mother wrote, about a pilot who fell in love with a mysterious man during a time of hardship. He doesn’t even need to think, really; the chords and the words come to him naturally, as though it was all he knew. And for a time, it was. Just the sound of his voice and the guitar, drowning the humming and beeping of the machines. His song and Finn.

* * *

 

Finn has been unconscious for two weeks, three days, eighteen hours, and twelve minutes. Poe has spent every day he has free by Finn’s side, singing and playing guitar.

Poe is in the shower, distracted, contemplating the fate of his friend, when he hears BB-8 speed into his room.

‘Be with you in a minute, buddy!’ he shouts above the pounding of the water.

He wipes a hand across his face and turns off the water. No sooner has he stepped out of the shower than BB-8 came into the washroom, emitting a happy stream of ones and zeros.

‘Finn’s awake?’ Poe can feel his lips curling into a smile as he hurriedly dries himself and throws on the nearest pair of clothing.

He practically runs to the med bay, straight past the monotone med droid, and almost crashes into Snap. Finn already has a gaggle of visitors around his bed, including the General. She turns to look at him, and Finn follows her gaze.

They make eye contact, and both of them grin ecstatically. Poe runs to the edge of the bed and bundles Finn into his arms, as gently as he can, mindful of Finn’s injuries.

‘Buddy, you have no idea how glad I am to see you,’ Poe breathes, feeling all the tense energy seep from his body, leaving nothing but the warmth of Finn’s body against his.

‘Poe,’ Finn replies.

‘Rey said you’d be okay,’ Poe says, pulling back and smiling. ‘I can see why you like her.’

‘She’s going to bring back Luke Skywalker,’ Finn tells him. ‘Everyone says so.’

Poe turns to look at Leia before replying. ‘She’ll bring us hope. In whatever form it comes.’

His hand has slipped, from habit, to curl around Finn’s. Finn looks down at their entwined hands, and Poe can feel everyone else in the room do the same. He waits for Finn to pull away from his touch, but instead, he feels a soft pressure as Finn squeezes his hand.

‘How’s your back?’ Poe asks, staying as close to Finn as he can without it being a major breach of personal space.

‘It’s healing, slowly,’ Finn replies. ‘I just need to take it easy.’

‘I agree. I’m glad.’ He pauses. ‘Hey, I just remembered, I have a gift for you!’

He presents Finn with the jacket. It took him a few days to fix, and since then he’d been carrying it everywhere, just in case, to make sure he had when Finn woke up.

‘You fixed it,’ Finn says, awestruck, staring at the jacket. ‘You did this for me?’

Poe nods. ‘It’s your jacket now, bud,’ he smiles. ‘Just be more careful next time, okay?’

‘I’ll try,’ Finn grins. He sets the jacket on the side, but keeps glancing at it every so often.

Eventually, after a few more minutes, Poe reluctantly lets go, and allows other people to gather around Finn. He sees Leia motion at him, and inconspicuously makes his way towards her.

‘I bet you’re relieved he’s awake,’ she says.

‘I am,’ Poe smiles easily. It feels like all the weight of the past two weeks has been lifted. He cannot remember the last time he felt this good.

‘So,’ Leia begins after a beat, ‘have you told him?’

Poe turns to look at her. ‘Told him what?’

Leia rolls her eyes. ‘Oh come on, it’s obvious you have feelings for him. Does he know?’

Poe stays silent.

‘Tell him,’ Leia says. ‘Before it’s too late.’ There’s pain in her eyes and Poe knows she’s thinking about Han.

He nods at her, places a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

Eventually, she clears everyone out; ‘don’t you all have important rebel things to be doing?’.

Poe takes his usual seat in the chair by Finn’s bed. Finn reaches out wordlessly, entwining their fingers. Poe is hyper aware of every area of contact between them.

‘I heard music,’ Finn says gently. He’s looking at the guitar next to Poe.

Poe runs his free hand through his hair. ‘Uh, yeah, I just found it there and, uh, thought it’d be… nice, you know, I thought maybe it’d help you… find your way back.’

Finn’s smiling at him, and Poe feels like he’s looking right at the sun, at this bright, celestial being who is the source of life and love and happiness. His entire being feels warm just being around Finn. It’s something he doesn’t want to lose, something that he’s fighting for. Something that gives him hope.

‘I liked it,’ Finn smiles. ‘Will you play more?’

‘Sure thing, buddy,’ Poe grins before he reluctantly releases Finn’s hand and takes the guitar.

He plays the song his mother wrote, about a pilot who fell in love with a mysterious man during a time of hardship. He doesn’t even need to think, really; the chords and the words come to him naturally, as though it was all he knew. And for a time, it was. Just the sound of his voice and the guitar, drowning the humming and beeping of the machines. His song and Finn.

When he’s finished, Finn whispers, ‘That was beautiful.’

Poe’s humble protests are cut short by the monotone med droid, insisting that Poe has to leave.

‘Five more minutes,’ Finn pleads. ‘I promise, this won’t take long, I just need to say something.’

The medical droid is silent as it passive-aggresively wheels itself away.

‘Everything okay?’ Poe asks. He can feel his heartbeat quicken as Finn takes hold of his hand again.

‘It’s a beautiful song.’

‘My mom wrote it about my dad,’ Poe explains. ‘They were perfect together.’ His hands move to the chain around his neck. ‘I have her ring,’ he continues. ‘Just waiting for the right person to give it to.’

‘Poe-’

‘Life’s gonna be different now, Finn, I promise. You’re so good. You’re not what the First Order trained you to be. You’re hope. You’re a good man, and I believe in you.’

He reaches out to cup the side of Finn’s face with his free hand. Finn covers Poe’s hand with his own.

He gently kisses the top of Finn’s head and says he’ll be back tomorrow. ‘You’d better get some sleep, cause we have a lot of catching up to do.’

‘Poe, wait.’

Poe stops, half out of his seat. Finn has not yet let go of his hand.

‘I want to say something.’

Poe makes a gesture, as if to say ‘go ahead’. The words are stuck in his throat.

‘Before we met, I wasn’t taught songs by my parents about love. I wasn’t surrounded by friends, people I trusted. I was just a set of letters and numbers. And then you came and changed all that. You gave me meaning. And I’ve seen the new side. Having people to come home to. Friends, family. I want all this. I want a new life. And I want you to be in it.’

Poe lets out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. He honestly hadn’t expected this.

‘Finn, I didn’t give you meaning. You did that yourself, by defecting, by doing what you knew was right. You did that. And I think you’re absolutely fantastic for doing it. A true inspiration. A poster boy for hope.’ He smiles at the last one, and Finn rolls his eyes.

‘I mean it!’ he insists. ‘I do. And as long as you want friends and family to come home to, I’m here. I’m here for you whenever you need me.’

Finn pulls Poe towards him as much as he can, until they’re close enough that Finn can let go of his hand and wrap his arms around his body. He smells of the sterile scent of medical bays, but Poe doesn’t mind, doesn’t care because he is so warm and he feels like home for reasons Poe can’t quite explain.

They draw back, noses touching, laughing quietly at each other, unable to stop smiling. Finn presses a kiss to Poe’s lips, and Poe gasps in surprise before kissing back. Finn’s lips are smooth and gentle and taste of something he can’t quite name right now because all he can think is ‘oh dear force this is actually happening right now I am kissing Finn and this is so nice’

All too soon they pull away, and Poe’s breath has been swept away, and they are both grinning like teenagers and complete idiots but neither of them care because maybe this is what love feels like. What hope feels like. This is happiness, and they will not give it up.

Poe gets up to leave again, and Finn stops him.

‘One more song. Please,’ he asks.

Poe beams at him as he picks up the guitar once more.


End file.
